A study commissioned by the Canadian office of the global search engine giant found that more than one-third of Canadian small businesses have no online presence whatsoever.

“Ironically, 69 per cent of the businesses polled said the web would be their first stop when researching new businesses in their communities,” a news release from Google Canada stated.

“These results suggest that Canada’s small business owners know the power of the Internet, because they use it every day as consumers; yet many are hesitant to create their own web presence.”

The release said that more than 70 per cent of the SMEs polled in the Angus Reid study that do not currently have a website are likely to consider establishing one if it is easy to do and free of charge.